Buddhist Romanticism

about it and dissect it: ‘How is this? What is the meaning of this?’ They
make open what isn’t open, make plain what isn’t plain, dispel doubt on its
various doubtful points. This is called an assembly trained in crossquestioning
and not in bombast.” — AN 2:46
§ 67. There the Blessed One addressed the monks, “Monks, I will teach
you four great standards. Listen and pay careful attention.”
“As you say, lord,” the monks responded to him.
The Blessed One said, “There is the case where a monk says this: ‘Faceto-face
with the Blessed One have I heard this, face-to-face have I received
this: This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s
instruction.’ His statement is neither to be approved nor scorned. Without
approval or scorn, take careful note of his words and make them stand
against the suttas and tally them against the Vinaya. If, on making them
stand against the suttas and tallying them against the Vinaya, you find that
they don’t stand with the suttas or tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude:
‘This is not the word of the Blessed One; this monk has misunderstood it’—
and you should reject it. But if, on making them stand against the suttas
and tallying them against the Vinaya, you find that they stand with the
suttas and tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude: ‘This is the word of the
Blessed One; this monk has understood it rightly.’”
[Similarly with a monk who claims to have learned Dhamma & Vinaya
from well-known leading elders, from learned elders who know the texts,
or from a single elder who has learned the texts.]
“Monks, remember these four great standards.” — DN 16
§ 68. “Monks, these two slander the Tathāgata. Which two? He who
explains what was not said or spoken by the Tathāgata as said or spoken by
the Tathāgata. And he who explains what was said or spoken by the
Tathāgata as not said or spoken by the Tathāgata. These are the two who
slander the Tathāgata.” — AN 2:23
§ 69. “There is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a
counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the
disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma
has arisen in the world. Just as there is no disappearance of gold as long as
a counterfeit of gold has not arisen in the world, but there is the
disappearance of gold when a counterfeit of gold has arisen in the world, in
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